Southwest Georgia Played Key Role in War of 1812-- Part 3: Forts, Fort Mims, Battle of Horseshoe Bend and Negro Fort

Not only was a trail hewed from the Wilderness, but Gen. David Blackshear also built a series of forts along that trail:  Fort Telfair, Fort Twiggs, Fort Jackson, Fort Pike, Fort Mitchell, Fort Green Fort Lawrence, Fort Adams, Fort Clark and Fort McIntosh.

Other forts in the region included  Fort Gaines, Fort Mitchel, Fort Morgan and Fort Scott.

Military action in the region began on August 30, 1813, when a war party of Creek Indians under Spanish and English influence, attacked  Fort Mims in what is now in Alabama and 500  mostly white settlers were killed.  In retaliation, Gen. Andrew Jackson would lead his Tennessee volunteers with the aid of Cherokee warriors, killing around  800 Creeks in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

Another battle of note which highlighted the alliances formed during the War of 1812 would take place on the Apalachicola River at a fortification called British Fort, but more commonly known as Negro Fort.  There, the British enlisted runaway slaves and Indians to harass the white settlers of the region.

--Brock-Perry

From Fort Mims to Horseshoe Bend to New Orleans

The massacre of Americans at Fort Mims demanded a response.  Col. Andrew Jackson  was sent to fight the Red Stick Creek Indians and defeated them at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend  on March 27, 1814.  Sam Houston, who was to become famous in the Texas was one of Jackson's lieutenants at this battle and continued fighting despite being shot in the thigh.

As a result of this battle, the Creeks ceded half of what was to become Alabama to the U.S. government.

Jackson was promoted to general and sent 150 miles west to defend New Orleans.

The War of 1812 technically ended two weeks before the Battle of New Orleans when the Treaty of Ghent was signed (though it wasn't official until the U.S. ratified it and that took place after the battle was fought.  (February 16, 1815 by the Senate)

--Brock-Perry

Tennessee Governor Willie Blount-- Part 3:

The War of 1812 took place during Willie Blount's second and third terms as governor.  During the first months of the war, he struggled with a  lack of communication with the U.S. War Department and waited for permission to order his state militia south to New Orleans.

Following the Fort Mimms Massacre, in Alabama, north of Mobile, in 1813, he issued a call to arms and 3,500 Tennesseeans answered it.  All this support earned Tennessee its nickname "Volunteer State."

Blount then raised $300,000 to fund the expedition.  This force was divided into two divisions and ordered south.  This ended with the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

This success made him very popular with the people of Tennessee after the war.

--Brock-Perry